But before coach John Fox was hired by the Broncos, he was not re-signed after nine seasons as a Carolina Panthers coach with four playoff appearances, two NFC championship games and one trip to the Super Bowl.

This week, the Broncos will travel to Charlotte, N.C., to face the Panthers for the first time with Fox as Denver’s coach. The Panthers are 2-6.

“I have a lot of great relationships there,” Fox said. “It was the place that gave me my first opportunity as a head coach, so I’ll always be indebted for that. I still have a home there. My sons live that way. It will be good to be back. But again it’s the NFL, this game’s only fun when you win.”

Fox was asked if the game held any special significance given the team let him go, much as when former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan faced the Raiders, a team that had fired him.

“It’s the most important game, because it’s the next one. You don’t get but 16 of these opportunities. Right now we’re 5-3, and the only guarantee we have is 5-11. So, you know, it will be just like any week from the standpoint of it’s the Denver Broncos against the Carolina Panthers at their place.

“That’s the only real thing I know. How we prepare will determine that outcome.”

Asked if that was going to be his response all week Fox said, “Yes, put that in a quote and you’ll hear it many times.”

Kuper update. Broncos right guard Chris Kuper could miss a month with a severely sprained left ankle.

It is a painful injury that will require plenty of time and attention from the Broncos’ trainers to heal. Kuper has had ankle troubles before, missing some time in training camps in his career, even before he suffered a dislocated left ankle in the 2011 regular-season finale.

Kuper also suffered a fractured bone in his left forearm in training camp that kept him out of the Broncos’ first four games and limited him to three special-teams snaps in a fifth.

“(Kuper) is such a great guy,” Fox said. “He’s well liked by his teammates. They voted him captain. He’s had a bad streak of some luck lately, but it’s good to see it’s not as serious as the other injuries he’s had this season.”

Do your homework. No NFL team may have used the read option better than the Broncos did last season with Tim Tebow at quarterback. But the Broncos’ defense gets a dose of it Sunday with Panthers quarterback Cam Newton running plenty of the option these days.

“(There) are a lot of similarities, and those are things that will help us in our preparation,” Fox said. “They’ve got some gifted players on offense. I know that team pretty well.”

Injuries. Fox said he didn’t believe the other injuries the Broncos suffered Sunday were too serious. Tight end Jacob Tamme (elbow) and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (knee) left the game with injuries, but returned.

Fox said he did not have an update on cornerback Tracy Porter, who did not make the trip to Cincinnati.

Footnotes. Fox said the Broncos would ask the NFL’s officiating department to take a look at a play just before halftime Sunday when the Bengals appeared to be in an illegal formation that wasn’t flagged. The drive ended with a missed field goal. … The Broncos did not surrender a sack Sunday. It was the third consecutive game the Broncos have not allowed a sack, and the fourth in the past five.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tyreek Hill had touchdowns receiving and on a punt return, Kansas City’s defense made life miserable for Oakland quarterback Derek Carr, and the Chiefs beat the Raiders 21-13 on a frigid Thursday night to take control of the AFC West. Charcandrick West also had a touchdown run for the Chiefs (10-3). They moved into a first-place...